Hassle-Free Property Conveyancing Solutions in NSW

What is Conveyancing?

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring property from one person to another.

Purchasers and Vendors all need to go through the conveyancing process.

The main stages of a standard residential conveyance are:

Contract for Sale is prepared for a Vendor by a lawyer or conveyancer and the Contract for Sale is given to the Vendor’s appointed real estate agent to start marketing the property. The lawyer or conveyancer preparing the Contract for Sale will make sure that the Vendor complies with its Vendor disclosure requirements by attaching the documents required to be attached under the law to the Contract and other matters regarding the property are disclosed.

The appointed real estate agent may then commence marketing the property. A real estate agent cannot commence marketing a property until he/she has a complete Contract for Sale for the property (sometimes called a Listing Contract).

Once a purchaser is found, that purchaser will then make an offer and it is open to the Vendor to agree, negotiate or reject an offer. After the purchase price is agreed between the parties, a Sales Advice is prepared and issued to the Vendor’s lawyer or conveyancer and the Purchaser’s lawyer or conveyancer.

The Vendor’s lawyer or conveyancer issues the final version of the Contract to the Purchaser’s lawyer or conveyancer and the Contract is reviewed by the Purchaser’s legal representative.

The next step is for Contracts to be exchanged. This is when the purchaser pays the deposit and the vendor’s signed contract is handed to the purchaser’s lawyer and the purchaser’s signed contract is handed to the vendor’s lawyer or conveyancer. Once this has happened, Contracts are exchanged – a binding contract is now in force between the parties.

Between exchange and settlement (or completion), each party prepares the matter for settlement. Each party to the transaction has separate things they need to do to ready the matter for settlement.

At settlement, the purchaser (or the purchaser’s lender) attends settlement and hands over the money required to settle which is made up of the balance of the purchase price and any adjustments (for Council rates, water usage etc). In exchange for the balance of the purchase monies, the Vendor (or the Vendor’s discharging mortgagee) will hand over the necessary documents for the property to be transferred into the purchaser’s name (typically the Transfer and Discharge of Mortgage). A direction is given regarding the keys and an order on the agent is sent to the real estate agent – once the real estate agent has this they can release the keys to the purchaser and the deposit money to the Vendor. The purchaser now owns the property!.

The conveyance is complete! Champagne is popped and mortgages start!

Are you buying a property?

There are so many things to think about when buying a property: How much should I pay? Can I get a loan approved? What sort of inspections do I need to do on the property? How can I understand the Contract?

ClickLaw has a team of experienced lawyers and we will help navigate you through the conveyancing process. Our role is to advise you on the Contract for Sale and assist with the conveyancing process in general.

We will:

firstly review the Contract and discuss the Contract with you and provide you with an advice;

negotiate on your behalf any amendments to the Contract;

outline the searches and enquiries we recommend you undertake prior to an exchange of contracts;

explain to you whether contracts will be exchanged with a cooling off period (i.e. conditional exchange) or with no cooling off period (unconditional).

attend to an exchange of contracts;

carry out the searches post exchange that we believe are necessary;

liaise with your lender/broker as required;

prepare the transaction for settlement.

Are you selling a property?

Before your agent can market the property, you will need to have a Contract for Sale prepared. This is where we come in!

We take your instructions about the property (such as whether any building works have recently been done to the property; any agreements you may have with adjoining neighbours and what is to be sold with the property or excluded from the sale (e.g. the fountain)).

We then prepare a Contract for Sale and give that to your agent to market the property. We ensure that you meet your vendor disclosure obligations by attaching all of the prescribed documents to the Contract.

What happens next? You have to keep the property looking good for open homes and once you agree a price with a purchaser, we receive a sales advice from the real estate agent and issue a Contract for Sale to the purchaser’s solicitor or conveyancer.

The parties then proceed to an exchange of contracts and a binding contract is in force. That is, neither party can pull out (without legal consequences).
After exchange, we advise you as to next steps, such as liaising with your lender to arrange a discharge of a mortgage on the property (if there is one) and anything else you need to do to prepare for settlement (or completion).

Nearer to settlement, you will need to ensure that if you are selling the property as “vacant possession”, i.e. there is no tenant in the property, you move out prior to the settlement time. You need to make arrangements to leave the key(s) with the agent, pack the moving truck and wait to hear from us that the property has settled! It is time to crack open the champagne!

Buying or selling a rented property?

There are a few more things to consider when buying or selling a tenanted property.

If buying a rented property, some of the things to check in the Tenancy Agreement prior to an exchange of contracts include, is the lease for a fixed term or is it a ‘rolling lease’ (i.e. the initial term has expired and the tenants are on a week to week basis? How much is the rent? Quality of the tenants?

If selling a property which is tenanted, it is essential that the correct amount of notice is given to the tenants and the number of open homes does not exceed the required limit per week. There are other things to consider too if selling a rented property.

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5 things you need to know before buying a property

Here’s our list of the top things you need to do before exchanging contracts

Obtain a Building & Pest Report and/or Strata Inspection Report

Review the Council file for the property

Organise finances

Have the Contract reviewed by a lawyer/conveyancer

Calculate the stamp duty payable and consider entitlement to any grants or exemptions

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4 things you need to know before selling your property

Appoint a real estate agent

Get a lawyer or conveyancer to prepare a Contract for Sale (agent cannot legally market property before contract prepared)

Present your property for sale (consider whether you may need a stylist to help)

Collate all paperwork relevant to the property, e.g. Final Occupation Certificates, other Council approvals for any improvements or renovations carried out on the property

Fixed Fee Conveyancing

No one likes a surprise bill. Rather than billing by the hour, we offer fixed fees for our conveyancing transactions. We would be happy to discuss our fees with you and are sure you will be happy with the value of the conveyancing services provided by our highly experienced team.

What Our Clients Say

Click Law did a brilliant job with our recent investment property purchase. An absolute pleasure to deal with and very professional. Highly recommended!